Winder linkage

ABSTRACT

A torque controlled yarn winder modified with a linkage to cause a change in torque in a continuous manner in response to an increase in package size. The linkage is connected between the guide arm riding on the package surface and a potentiometer connected in the circuit of the motor driving the winder.

United States Patent [191 Rudd Dec. 17, 1974 [54] WINDER LINKAGE 2,509,250 5/1950 Roberts 242/45 [75] Inventor: David William Rudd, Richmond, 3,193,209 7/1965 Hambach 242/18 R [73] Assignee: E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Primary Examiner stanley Gilreath Company, Wilmington, Del.

22 F 'l d: M 29 197 1 ay 3 [57 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 364,924

A torque controlled yarn winder modified with a link- [52] U S Cl 242/18 Cs 242/45 age to cause a change in torque in a continuous man- [511 B65h 59/00 ner in response to an increase in package size. The [58] Field 45 18 R linkage is connected between the guide arm riding on the package surface and a potentiometer connected in [56] References Cited the circuit of the motor driving the winder.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1938 Satterlee 242/18 CS 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEU DEEI'IIQH 3,854,668

SHEH 1 W 4 PATENIED E 11 11914 3, 854.668

saw u or 4 I5b FIG-u Q WINDER LINKAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention concerns yarn winding machines and means for controlling the operation thereof. More specifically it concerns a novel means for providing predetermined tension control in a low speed, spindle driven winding machine.

To control the tension on a filament, yarn, strand or the like being wound on a spool, it is known to control the torque of the motor turning the spool by varying the voltage input to the motor in response to the thickness of yarn wrapped upon the spool. The voltage has been varied by mechanical means employing a rider arm which contacts the surface of the yarn on the spool and which rises upwardly as that thickness increases.

An object of this invention is a novel mechanism for providing a predetermined tension control pattern in a yarn package employing such rider arm means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A machine for winding yarn packages that includes a frame, a rotating yarn support mounted to said frame driven by a motor having torque control means associated therewith, and a reciprocating arm pivotally mounted to the frame. There is a yarn guide attached to one end of the arm for guiding yarn onto the support in a controlled manner and the guide maintains surface contact with the yarn package being wound. The improvement comprises an apparatus to change the torque control means in response to yarn package size. The apparatus involves a linkage attached to the other end of the guide arm and a variable potentiometer coupled between the linkage and the torque control means. The linkage is operative in changing the potentiometer setting in response to changes in package size. The linkage comprises an elongated member slidably attached to said other end of the arm with the arm being free to reciprocate on said member. A shaft is rotatably mounted to the machine frame and is attached at one end to the elongated member. The shaft also is operatively coupled to the variable potentiometer whereby upwardly displacement of the guide arm by an increase in package size causes downward movement of the elongated member for rotation of the shaft and movement of the potentiometer. There is also a cam attached to the shaft for rotation therewith. The cam operates a motor cutoff switch when a preset package size is reached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top view of the winding machine of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the yarn guide arm of the winder of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a portion of the motor control circuit for the winder indicating the coupling between the guide arm and the control circuit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration showing details of the driver unit of FIGS. 1 and 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the machine chosen for purposes of illustration is a conventional winder and includes a frame 10, a yarn support 12 rotatably mounted to frame and driven by a torque motor 14 which also drives cam and reciprocating follower arrangement 16 through gear train 18 in a conventional manner. Motor 14 is a two phase motor including windings 14a, 14b and phase shifting capacitors 14c and 14d. Shaft 20 is slidably mounted in frame 10 and attached to cam and follower arrangement 16 to reciprocate in the manner indicated by the direction arrow. Attached to the end of shaft 20 for pivotal movement about the shaft is a guide arm 22 having a yarn guide 24 mounted on one end and a linkage 28 attached to the other end of the guide arm. The linkage includes an elongated member 30 slidably attached to the end of the guide arm 22 adjacent shaft 20 with the guide arm being free to reciprocate on the member 30. A shaft 34 is rotatably mounted in frame 10 adjacent shaft 20. Two connecting blocks 31 and 32 are fixed to shaft 34 and to member 30 to provide a rigid connection between the two. Also fixed to shaft 34 within the frame 10 are a segmental gear 35 and cam 36. Gear 35 meshes with a gear on potentiometer 40 while cam 36 operatively engages switch 42.

The motor 14 is electrically connected to a driver unit 15 which supplies a constant A.C. voltage to rectifier 17. A filter 19 is connected to the rectifier for the purpose of smoothing its D.C. output which is manually adjusted to a set level at potentiometer 21 connected to filter 19. The driver unit 15 contains a multi-tap power transformer 150, a magnetic amplifier 15b and saturable core reactor 15d (FIG. 4). Transformer 15a supplies A.C. to the magnetic amplifier 15b where a variable D.C. input signal will cause the A.C. to be converted to D.C. by rectifier 150. The D.C. from rectifier is sufficient to control the A.C. from the input power source through the saturable core reactor 15d, referred to as drive reactor, to the torque motor 14; therefore, any change in the D.C. input voltage will cause a change in the motor torque, resulting in a change in yarn windup tension. The D.C. signal voltages present at the input windings of the magnetic amplifier 15b are obtained by first placing an empty tube 12 on winder spindle, with thread 11 through guide 24 and made fast to tube 12 when power is applied to winder unit. Torque motor 14 will pull the thread 11 taut. Under static conditions, potentiometer 29, called start tension control, is adjusted to give the desired tensiometer reading on the yarn. At this point, potentiometer 40 is at its zero position due to the guide arm 22 being at its lowest position when guide 24 is contacting the package tube 12. With the desired starting yarn tension obtained by adjusting potentiometer 29, the D.C. voltage output from potentiometer 29 will remain a constant signal to the input coil 29a in the magnetic amplifier 15b until the position of 29 is manually changed. The empty tube is now replaced with one 7 containing a full package and with'yarn in place and attached with guide 24 contacting the package surface. With winder power on and again under static conditions, potentiometer 21, called final yarn tension control, is adjusted to give the desired tensiometer reading on the yarn. Since potentiometer 21 is in series with potentiometer 40, its function is to adjust the voltage across potentiometer 40 which sends a D.C. voltage to input winding 40b in the magnetic amplifier 15b.

When all controls are set correctly and the desired yarn tension is obtained at package start and finish, magnetic amplifier 15b will have a D.C. voltage on each of its input control coils one a constant voltage from potentiometer 29 and the other a variable voltage from potentiometer 40 when it is changed by the increase in package size. Magnetic amplifier b will maintain a constant level of A.C. flow to rectifier 150 as set by the DC signal on its input coil from potentiometer 29, at package start. As the package size increases, potentiometer 40, turned by the movement of guide arm 22 up, will send to input coil 40b in magnetic amplifier 15b a DC. voltage that increases as the package size increases, which will cause a gradual increase in A.C. voltage amplitude to rectifier 150. The DC. voltage from rectifier 150 will saturate the core of driver reactor 15d to allow it to pass A.C. from the power input source to torque motor 14.

The function of the driver unit 15 is to amplify the signal voltages from the electrical control network to a level that will operate the control winding of the saturable reactor 15d, where saturation of its core will regulate the amplitude of A.C. voltage to the winder torque motor 14 to keep the yarn thread taut at a predetermined tension level through-the-package.

In operation, yarn or threadline 11 from a source (not shown) runs directly to guide 24 mounted on reciprocating guide arm 22 for winding in a fixed pattern on rotating yarn support 12. The buildup of yarn 11 into a yarn package on tube 12 causes guide arm 22 to move upwardly as it pivots on reciprocating shaft 20, moving the rear end thereof downwardly causing member 30 to move down also. Thus, vertical movement of member 30 perpendicular to its axis causes shaft 34 to turn. Turning of shaft 34 with its attached segmental gear 35 changes the setting of variable potentiometer 40. The turning movement of potentiometer 40 is in direct ratio to the increase in size of the yarn package on support 12. From the driver unit 15 a constant A.C. voltage is rectified by rectifier l7, filtered by filter 19 and manually adjusted by potentiometer 21 whereby a predetermined direct current voltage is presented across potentiometer 40 which is then supplied as a variable signal to driver unit 15 as determined by the yarn package size on yarn support 12. Potentiometer 21 is used to set a constant motor signal level on which is imposed the variable signal from potentiometer 40. For operator convenience, optional meter 27 indicates percent of output to the drive reactor in driver unit 15, where the reactor controls the output torque of motor 14 running the winder. Switch 42 actuated by cam 36 attached to shaft 34 will shut down the winder unit when a preset yarn package size is reached. Switch 42a is a manual off-on switch used to shut down the winder while 42b is a light for indicating when the winder is on. With a tensiometer on the yarn, the starting yarn tension is adjusted with potentiometer 29 with meter 27 indicating the percent of drive applied. As the yarn package size increases, potentiometer 40 adds torque to motor 14 which shows as an increase in the reading on meter 27. The final yarn tension is set by potentiometer 21. This determines the slope angle i.e., plotted as windup yarn tension versus yarn package size for the through-the-package tension (windup yarn tension from the start to the finish of the package) and once set provides the predetermined pattern for a given yarn product. For example, if all controls are adjusted to give constant yarn tension through-the-package, the slope angle is zero. If potentiometer 21 is changed to give a greater or lesser yarn tension at package finish than at start, the slope angle will be greater than zero; however, the tension through-the-package will plot a straight line versus package size, unless the gear driven potentiometer 40 is replaced with one having a nonlinear resistance curve and/or designed to give a specific yarn tension curve through-the-package. The mechanical linkage and potentiometer are sized and selected so that they provide the desired pattern. Suitable apparatus for use in this invention includes winding machines such as a Richmond Precision Winder, Model A-8 (SacoLowell Shops, Division of Maremont Corp., Greenville, SC.) provided with a commercially available reactor driver unit such as a West Model JSB-l (West Instrument Corp., Division of Gulton Industries, Inc., Schiller Park, Ill.) and an Elenco Torque Motor, Model GNRN-802 (Electric Indicator Company, Inc., Wilton, Conn.).

The apparatus of this invention is most useful in slow speed winding operations (for example, 50 to yards/minute) at constant speed where the yarn is heavily sized, coated or impregnated with an emulsion and/or heavy oil. The apparatus permits proper package formation while retaining a predetermined tension pattern throughout the package for proper retention and uniformity of the yarn treating composition.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for winding yarn packages that includes a frame, a rotating yarn support mounted to said frame driven by a motor having torque control means, a variable potentiometer connected to the torque control means for regulating the output of the control means during winding and a reciprocating arm pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to said frame and having a yarn guide on one end for guiding yarn onto said support in a controlled manner, said yarn guide maintaining surface contact with the yarn package being wound, a linkage coupled between said arm and said potentiometer comprising: an elongated member slidably attachedto said other end of the arm, said arm being free to reciprocate on said member; a shaft rotatably mounted to said frame, said shaft being attached at one end to said member and coupled to said variable potentiometer whereby upward displacement of said arm by an increase in package size causes downward movement of said member for rotation of said shaft and movement of said variable potentiometer. 

1. In a machine for winding yarn packages that includes a frame, a rotating yarn support mounted to said frame driven by a motor having torque control means, a variable potentiometer connected to the torque control means for regulating the output of the control means during winding and a reciprocating arm pivotally mounted intermediate its ends to said frame and having a yarn guide on one end for guiding yarn onto said support in a controlled manner, said yarn guide maintaining surface contact with the yarn package being wound, a linkage coupled between said arm and said potentiometer comprising: an elongated member slidably attached to said other end of the arm, said arm being free to reciprocate on said member; a shaft rotatably mounted to said frame, said shaft being attached at one end to said member and coupled to said variable potentiometer whereby upward displacement of said arm by an increase in package size causes downward movement of said member for rotation of said shaft and movement of said variable potentiometer. 